The Aftermath
by szuberer
Summary: What happens after those last four words? Change is coming.
1. Chapter 1

"Mom?"

"Yeah."

"I'm pregnant."

In an instant, Lorelai felt like she was in the nightmare of her past. Then she realized that Rory was thirty-two years old and not sixteen. She put her hand on her heart and tried to catch her breath. She inhaled deep and exhaled.

"Please, mom. Say something," Rory said. "I didn't want to disappoint you but I need you now more than ever."

Lorelai turned to face Rory and grabbed her hand, "When did you find out?"

"A few days ago and I haven't told anyone yet." Rory felt the tears welling up in her eyes, "I didn't know how to tell you. I couldn't keep this to myself any longer."

Lorelai put her arms around her daughter and held her. Rory rested her head on her mom's shoulder and sobbed. "We'll figure this out kid," Lorelai said. "You have some serious explaining to do though."

They stood up from the steps of the gazebo. Lorelai intertwined her arm around Rory's and they began to walk. "I don't want to ruin your wedding," Rory said. "I waited so long for you to be this happy and I feel like I'm ruining it."

"Rory, you are not ruining this day for me. Don't even worry about me right now. I need you to tell me this though, is Logan the father?" Rory shook her head and Lorelai looked confused. "Paul's?"

"No mom," said Rory. "It's Jess." They walked along and Rory told Lorelai the long, crazy story.

/

Six weeks ago…

Rory slept with the engaged Logan one last time before parting ways. She was angry at herself for her lack of control. Even after Dean, she still hadn't learned her lesson. When would she learn to leave things alone that weren't hers, regardless of her feelings? She was beating herself up and she couldn't get the thoughts out of her head. She decided to go to Luke's that night, drink coffee and just was alone in the dark, sitting on the bar stool. Luke gave her a key for nights like these. She heard the bells on the door jingle. She turned around and saw Jess, surprised that he was actually staying. He walked over to her, threw his backpack on the floor and took a seat next to her.

"Coffee in the middle of the night cannot be good for you," he said.

"Don't act like you don't know me. Coffee anytime of the day is always a good thing," she said. "I was raised by Lorelai Gilmore, I was practically born with caffeine in my blood." He laughed and there was a short pause between them. "Jess, what are you doing here?"

"Besides being lost in my life...Luke is letting me crash for a while until I start to figure things out. Do you ever feel like your life is going nowhere?"

"Welcome to my life," said Rory. "I feel so stuck, I think I was suppose to stop feeling this way a long time ago by now. All of my friends are either engaged, married or pregnant."

"Sounds about right," he said. "So what's up? When I walked in, you looked like you were in a very deep thought."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm the other woman again."

Jess looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Rory unloaded and Jess just sat there and listened. She was so emotional at this time that she was vulnerable and willing to do just about anything to take the stress away. He was wondering if she wanted to come upstairs and have a drink with him in the apartment. She accepted and together, they both got very drunk. They kissed and at first, it was just a little peck on the lips. Rory's mind was elsewhere and she wasn't able to stop herself. She wasn't able to think that Jess could go away at any point and this would never matter. That little peck on the lips turned into more passion and eventually, they were practically ripping each other's clothes off.

Rory woke up in the morning and her head was pounding. She sat up in bed and looked around. At first, she closed her eyes and opened them again. For a moment, she thought she was waking up from a terrible dream. She could hear the busy towns people chatting in the diner. Rory looked over to see Jess sleeping in the bed next to her. Completely naked, she stood up from the bed and found her clothes. She was trying to be as quiet as possible so she could avoid any sense of conversation with sex over what just happened. She also had to somehow manage to get out of the diner without anyone noticing. As she was buttoning her shirt, she took a moment to gaze over at Jess. He looked so peaceful. She stopped herself though because she didn't want to get hurt again. He made it so easy for her to fall in love with him again and all she wanted to do was fight it.

/

Once she laid out the whole story for Lorelai, everything seemed to make sense to her from there. "Does Jess know?"

"No," she said. "After it happened, he tried to talk to me about what happened that night and I completely shut him out. I said the whole thing was a mistake, but I didn't mean it."

"What do you mean you didn't mean it was a mistake?"

"Mom, I love Jess. I always have and it never went away. It doesn't matter who I'm with, he'll always be in the back of my mind. I tried to run away from it for so long because I didn't want to get hurt again. But now, I'm so scared. What if he takes off and never comes back this time? I know you never liked Jess mom, but you don't know him like I do."

"Luke tells me that he's changed and he's more mature, that's saying something. Rory, don't you see? Jess is your Luke. All this time I thought it was Logan, but I was wrong."

"I'm not following," Rory said.

"I was always supposed to be with Luke, Rory. Those feelings I had for him never went away either. You deserve to be happy, to be with your Luke." She looked at Rory, "Don't wait any longer. Please, Rory. He deserves to know. You need to tell Jess everything that you just told me."

"You're right," Rory said and hugged Lorelai. "I love you, mom."

"Love you too kid," said Lorelai. "We're going to figure this out, okay?" Rory nodded in agreement.


	2. Chapter 2

Rory was finally going to tell Jess that she was pregnant. It would finally be the moment of truth. He could be excited, he could be just as scared as the next guy, or he could just bolt altogether. She texted him and they were going to meet in the apartment above the diner. She walked up the steps and could feel her anxiety radiate but she had to do it. She stopped in front of the door, took a long deep breath and knocked four times. He opened the door and invited her in.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi."

"Look Jess, I'm sorry I completely shut you down. Please though, I need you to forget all that and just listen."

"Okay," he said. "I'll listen." They walked over to the kitchen table and she took a seat. "I made you coffee," he said and poured her a cup. He set it on the table and sat across from her.

"Oh, thanks." She didn't take a drink but stared at the cup instead. She didn't know what else to do, she read that coffee was unhealthy for pregnant women. She was already going through some major withdrawals and not being able to drink it only made it seem harder."

"You're not drinking," he said. "You can tell me if you don't like my coffee, I won't be hurt Rory. I know that Luke makes the best cup."

"No, it's not that. I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood right now," she said.

"Rory Gilmore not into the mood for coffee? What is is?"

"Jess," she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

He sat back in his chair, "Logan's?"

She shook her head, "No. It's yours Jess."

He paused for a minute thinking to himself before speaking again. "Are you sure?" She couldn't tell if he was happy, sad or just confused.

"Yes," she nodded and the tears started to flow.

He stood up from his chair and paced a little, trying to come up with the right words to say. "Rory, I'm in love with you."

"What?"

"Don't act so confused, Rory. I love you, always have. All these years, it hasn't gone away. I tried so hard to let go of you and it's entirely impossible."

She stood up and she ran into his arms; he covered her in a warm embrace. "I love you too," she said. "For years, it's been the same for me too." She wiped away her tears with her sleeve. He kissed and held each other. She couldn't believe that this was actually happening. For once, she was certain about him and had a positive feeling. She could feel in her heart that he wasn't going to pick up and leave this time.

"I'm not gonna go away," he said and she rested her head on his chest. "I promise." He grabbed her hand and they walked over to the couch. They took a seat and continued to hold hands. "So, I'm guessing you're gonna be drinking decaf coffee from now on?"

She laughed, "It's terribly sad. But...yes, decaf coffee. I think I'll just pretend it has caffeine and my body might actually start to believe that it's the real thing."

"I just realized that we actually have to tell Luke," he said.

"Yes," she said. "My mom is the only one that knows. She promised that she wouldn't say anything to him. She would rather have me tell him myself."

"So was she mad when you told her that it's my kid?"

"No, she's she's actually quite supportive. I was surprised. Jess, I'm scared as hell."

"Me too," he said. "We really have to get our shit together now."

"Yeah," she said. "I got offered the position to be the editor of the Star's Hollow Gazette. I wasn't sure at first but I'm going to take it."

"That's great," he said. "I still don't know what I'm going to do." He rushed his hand through his hair with worry. "I'm going to ask Luke for help...I've never asked him for help before. He's offered and I always refused to take it."

"He'll understand," she said.

/ / /

Luke and Lorelai were planning on having both Rory and Jess over for dinner that night. Luke was still completely out of the loop and hadn't had the slightest clue as to what was going on. Lorelai felt terrible for keeping it a secret from him, especially since they vowed not to keep secrets from each other. Luke had been more to a father to Rory all of these years than Christopher had ever been. Even though she wasn't his, Luke always looked at Rory like she was his and was very protective of her. Rory also looked at him like a father and felt the same way, which is why telling him the news was going to be so hard. Lorelai, Rory and Jess were all crossing their fingers, hoping that Rory's pregnancy wasn't going to crush him. The fact that she was pregnant wasn't going to upset him, but that Jess was the one who got her pregnant. Since Jess had come back to Star's Hollow, they had become closer and were finally on good terms. Luke was also finally seeing that Jess was patching up his life and becoming more mature as an adult.

Luke was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table reading Rory's articles in the newspaper to him. He was excited to have the family back together again and even if she didn't always show it, he was truly happy. Rory was in her bedroom working on edits for the newspaper. She was trying to keep her stress level down but wasn't making any progress. She couldn't stop wondering if Luke and Jess would start fighting again like they used to.

The doorbell rang and everyone in the house paused. Rory closed her laptop, "I'll get it!" She rushed to the front door and opened it to find Jess on the porch. She looked around to make sure her mom and Luke weren't heading to the door also. The coast was clear and she shut the door behind her, grabbing his hand. "Hey," she said and gave him a peck on the lips. "I have spent all day freaking out over this dinner. They think it's just a casual dinner."

"I know," he said. "Luke and I are finally cool too...he's gonna hate me."

"No fighting," she said. "Please?"

"Okay," he said and they walked inside. Rory let go of his hand quickly and they walked into the kitchen. Luke and Lorelai greeted Jess and they set the table for dinner.

They all began to eat and out of nowhere, Rory put her fork down and cleared her throat. "Luke," she said.

"Rory?"

"I have some news that I would like to share with you," she said and glanced at Jess. "Actually, we would like to share some news with you." He stopped eating and waited for Rory to break the news. "Jess and I are back together." Lorelai already knew and grabbed Luke's hand from underneath the table.

"That's great," said Luke. He picked up his fork and pointed it at Jess, "If you hurt her again I will kill you." He began to eat again.

"Wait," Jess said. He was extremely confused. "You mean to tell me that you're not mad?"

"No," said Luke. "I can see that you have changed. You have become more mature and I'm proud of you for settling down for the first time in your life. Actually, I have something I've been meaning to bring up...a proposition. How would you like to run the diner with me and be my partner?"

Lorelai was not expecting him to say that, "What? Luke, why didn't you tell me about this?"

Luke looked at Lorelai, "I'm sorry. I've been thinking that I would like to start spending more time with you here at home. This time we might actually have time to go on our honeymoon. I think taking a small break from the diner might be good for me, and good for us."

Lorelai smiled, "Well I'm all for it."

"Yes," Jess said. "I would like that...I would like that a lot. My life has been taking all sorts of turns lately," he said and looked at Rory.

Luke started to speak again when Rory cut him off and said, "Luke...there's something else we would like to share with you."

Luke glanced from Rory to Jess, and back to Rory again. He laughed and joked, "What are you pregnant or something?"

"Yes," she said. "Luke, I'm pregnant." Luke didn't say a word. He stood up from his chair immediately and put his coat on. He grabbed his keys that were hanging by the door and stormed out the back door. Rory got up from the chair and ran to the window to see him peeling away in his truck.

Lorelai walked over and put her arm around her daughter. "He just needs some time," she said. "Don't worry, he's not angry at you."

"No, he's pissed at me." Lorelai and Rory turned around to look at Jess. "I just know it," Jess said. "I'm gonna go after him." Jess put his jacket on and said, "I know where he's going."

/ / /

Jess drove to the lake, stepped out of his car and saw Luke standing on the dock. It was the same dock where he sat with Rory and fell completely in love with her. He tried to act cool but everyone in Star's Hollow treated him like the town idiot. It was the same lake that Luke pushed him into when he first arrived at the age of sixteen.

Luke looked out into the distance with crossed arms, breathing heavy. He could hear footsteps behind him and knew right away that it was Jess. He hated the fact that Jess dragged his feet when he walked and would always told him to pick up his feet when he was a teenager. When he turned around, Jess stopped walking and just looked at him. For the first time every, Jess actually looked helpless. "I'm sorry," said Jess. "I love her, I'm gonna stay."

Luke slowly walked over to Jess and hugged him. "When I said don't hurt her again, I mean it Jess. Don't make promises you can't keep. I can't have you leaving me again either, okay?"

"I promise," Jess said.


	3. Chapter 3

The night of the dinner fiasco, Rory decided that she would go to the diner to stay the night with Jess. Even though Rory and Jess made up, they still wanted to work things out the best that they could. Rory was so distraught when she first found out she was pregnant. Even though she was still terrified, she desperately wanted everything to work out so she and Jess could be a family. They both decided that Rory would sleep over a couple night a week at the apartment, then gradually increase her stay throughout the weeks and months. They weren't talking about buying a house just yet because they were focusing on investing time into their mended relationship. Since everything was coming at them full speed already, they didn't want to jump into everything all at once.

Rory was packing an overnight bag for her stay at Jess's apartment. Luke was cleaning the kitchen and Jess was waiting for Rory in the living room. Lorelai walked over to Jess and said, "Thank you for staying this time. I mean it Jess...and thank you for loving my daughter. Be good to her, okay?"

"Lorelai, I'm sorry for hurting Rory before and I know I hurt you too. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, there was so excuse. I was a dumb kid." He leaned in, "I know this whole thing is suppose to be an accident. I mean, getting Rory pregnant was an accident...but, I feel like this could be a good thing. I think it brings me hope that things are actually coming together in my life, and that's something I've never felt before. This is all new to me and I promise you, I'm not going to give up on Rory. I'm all in."

Lorelai teared up, "Your uncle said that to me on our first date. He said that he was all in and I believe you. I know both of you are at a point in your life when you seem lost. Having a baby makes you grow up, for good. I think change is a hard thing, but it's also a good thing." She hugged Jess and Rory walked out of her bedroom lugging a heavy bag. Jess walked over and carried the bag for her. Luke came out of the kitchen to say goodbye to both of them and they were on their way out.

After the door closed behind them, Luke put his arm around Lorelai and held her close. They watched them leave out the window and she said, "I still can't believe I'm going to be a grandpa." She gave Luke a small peck on the lips and looked up at him. "How do you feel about being a grandpa?"

"Honesty," he said. "I'm scared shitless." She laughed.

/ / /

Luke sat in the bed while Lorelai slipped on one of his old t-shirts. He watched her as she sat down at her vanity, put moisturizer on her face and wrapped her hair into a bun. She could see him watching her in the mirror and she smiled at him. "This is my favorite part of the day," he said.

"You're favorite part of the day is going to sleep?"

"No," he said. "Believe it or not, I actually have two favorite parts of the day. The first, is waking up in the morning. I have to wake up at five to open the diner for breakfast. Just when I thought it's the start of another terrible day, I see you sleeping and it changes everything. You look so peaceful when you sleep. I know I've never told you that before, but now you know."

Lorelai tilted her head, "I think that's one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me. I never expect you to say things like that and when you do. You, Luke Danes...are a man of mystery."

She shut off the light and crawled into bed. "My second part of the day is watching you get ready for bed. It never gets old because each night, I'm reminded that I get to spend the rest of my life watching you get ready for bed."

"Awe, I love you." She gave him a kiss. "Do you just say things like this because you think you'll get lucky?"

"Just because I'm a guy, you always assume that I say things like this because I want to get laid..."

She sat on top of him and took his shirt off. "Well, don't you?" They started kissing and eventually made love. Lorelai believed that there was a clear difference between sex and making love. Sex had absolutely no meaning to her. Then there were nights like this; she never felt this close to anybody before. When they were done, she rested her head near his shoulder and put her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart beating and it was the best feeling imaginable.

Luke sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry I shot you down when you asked me about having a kid, I should have said something a long time ago."

"What?" Lorelai looked at him.

"I just...I wish I could have gotten the chance with you. It's too late now...I would have done the whole thing, you know. I know you don't like I would, but I would have gone to the appointments. I think I would enjoy watching you grow. I wish I could have seen it."

She moved off of him and laid on her back. She put her hands over her face and started to bawl. "I'm sorry," she cried.

"No, Lorelai. It's my fault..."

"I would have wanted all of that too," she said.

"So let's make it happen then," he said.


End file.
